Railroad-frog.



J. HOSKYN & J. H. BIDDEMEN.

RAILROAD FROG.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1909.

982,272. Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

H WI

WITNESSES ms NORRIS PETERS cu., WASHINGTON, n. c.

.UNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

JOHN HOSKYN AND JOSEPH H. BIDDEMEN, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK; SAID BIDDEMENASSIGNOR TO SAID HOSKYN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-FROG.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pat nted J an. 24, 1911.

Application filed July 17, 1909. Serial No. 508,141.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN HOSKYN and J OSEPH H. BIDDEMEN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Buffalo county of Erie, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailroad-Frogs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

Our invention relates to railroad frogs and more particularly toreversible railroad frogs.

In producing our invention we have sought to provide a railroad frog inwhich it would be impossible for persons traveling over it to catchtheir feet in it and also to provide a device in the construction ofwhich no bolts, screws or rivets need be employed. Moreover the deviceherein described is one which is reversible and therefore has double thewearing qualities of the ordinary nonreversible frog.

By means of the device herein described we have attained the advantagesabove set forth. Many other advantages than those herein set forth willbe evident to those skilled in the art.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective of our frog showing it in place and connectedwith the rails and ties. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the wing rail endof Fig. 1 with the rails removed. Fig. 3 is a view partly in plan andpartly in section of one-half of our frog and is taken on the line E-Fof Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is an enlarged view of the tongue end of Fig. l withthe rails removed. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on theline AB of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on theline C-D of Fig. 2 and in addition thereto shows a section of a carwheel in place upon the tread area of our frog.

We will designate that part of our frog located at 20 as the throat.That part of Fig. 1 at the left of the throat 20 we will call the throatend and that part to the right of the said throat the tongue end. Thatpart of the rail portion of our frog at the left of the throat 20 wewill designate as the rail treads 6 and that part at the right of thethroat the wing rails 6 The rail portion 6 composed of the rail treads 6and the wing rails 6 is provided with guards 5 which are slightlybeveled and which rise vertically from the extreme outer edge of therail portion 6. These guards prevent the car wheel from leaving thetrack should its flange by any mishap leave the channel ways 7. Theguards 5 are flared somewhat at their ends 8 and 9 and are preferablyreinforced at their points. The rail treads 6 are of such a width thatthere is a suitable clearance space 17 (see Fig. 6) between the guards 5and the outer edge of the rim of the car wheel 22. Should a car wheelwhen entering the frog by any chance have a tendency to ride upon thetops of the guards 5, the flared ends 8 and 9 would throw the wheel backin its place and the reinforcement at these ends would be ample towithstand the shock. The two sides of the tread area 21 of the tongueend 19 of our frog converge at the apex or point 10 (see Figs. 1 and 2).

As clearly shown in the several accompanying views the conformation ofthe upper and lower faces of our frog is identical thus making itpossible to use either face as desired and adding thereby very greatlyto the life of the frog. The rail portion 6 and tread area 21 of thatface of the frog which is not in use form the base of the frog and theguards 5 of that face are let into the cross-tie (see Figs. 1 and 6)thus providing means which prevent lateral displacement of the frog.Each side of the throat portion of the frog (see Figs. 1, 2 and 6) isrecessed at 12 and this recess is preferably provided with ribs or webs13 for strengthening purposes. This construction reduces the weight ofthe frog and provides means for using spikes to assist in fastening thefrog to the cross-ties. In a like manner the tongue portion 19 of thefrog is cored out at 1d (see Figs. 2 and 5) and is provided withsupports 15 for strengthening the upper and lower surfaces. At both endsof the frog we provide mortises or rectangular cavities 16 each of whichis adapted to receive one end of an ordinary fish-plate and thus therails to which the fish-plate is secured are locked in proper lateralrelation with the frog.

By the use of our frog we provide a very smooth passage for the carwheels 22 from the rail portion 6 to the tread area 21 or vice versa andthereby the wear and tear on the frog as well as on the rolling stock isreduced to a minimum.

Having thus described our invention it will be apparant to those skilledin the art that it has many points of merit and advantage some of whichmay be mentioned. Thus when our invention is used no outer or innerguard rails are necessary and the cost of material and labor insupplying the same are done away with. Moreover in our device no woodenwedges need be used. Owing to the absence of all bolts, screws, rivetsand nuts, there is no shake or rattle of our frog when in use andtherefore it is less subject to wear and tear than the ordinary frog.Our device is simple to manufacture and when made of the best steel itis as solid, safe and durable as the rails themselves. The cost ofmanufacture of our device and the cost of installation is less than inthe case with the frogs now in use. Our device is easily installed andcan be put in place or changed in a very short time.

Because of the fact that our frog is reversible and double faced, thereis always an extra frog ready for use and on the ground in case ofaccident or wear. Another advantage of our frog is due to the fact thatthe channel ways 7 as well as the guards 5 are beveled outwardly thusmaking it impossible for anyone to plug the frog and thereby cause thecar wheels to jump the track and wreck the cars.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is:

1. As a new article of manufacture a railroad frog comprising a railportion, straight guards integral with said rail portion and runningparallel with the rails of said rail portion and flared at their extremeends, and a tongue portion.

2. As a new article of manufacture a railroad frog comprising a railportion and a tongue portion, said rail portion and said tongue portioneach being provided at their outer ends with mortises and fish-platesfitting into said mortises whereby the frog may be securely locked withthe rails.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad frog comprising a railportion and a tongue portion, guards integral with said rail portion andextending the length thereof, said rail portion and said tongue portioneach being provided at their outer ends with mortises, and fish-platesfitting into said mortises whereby the frog may be securely locked withthe rails.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad frog comprising a railportion and a tongue portion, said rail portion and said tongue portionbeing provided at their outer ends with mortises, fish-plates fittinginto said mortises, said rail portion being provided in its sides withrecesses whereby the weight of said frog is reduced and a means providedfor securing the same to the railroad cross ties.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad frog comprising a railportion and a tongue portion, guards integral with said rail portion andextending the length thereof, said rail portion and said tongue portionbeing provided at their outer ends with mortises, fish-plates fittinginto said mortises, said rail portion being provided in its sides withrecesses, whereby the weight of said frog is reduced and a meansprovided for securing the same to the railroad cross ties.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad frog comprising a railportion and a tongue portion, said rail portion and said tongue portionbeing provided at their outer ends with mortises, fish-plates fittinginto said vertical slots, said rail portion being provided in its sideswith recesses and said recesses being provided with strengthening ribs.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad frog comprising a railportion and a tongue portion, guards integral with said rail portion andextending the length thereof, said rail portion and said tongue portioneach being provided at its outer ends with mortises, and fish-platesfitting into said vertical slots, said rail portion being provided inits sides with recesses,said recesses being provided with strengtheningribs.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad frog comprising a tongueportion and a recessed rail portion, said tongue portion having a hollowcenter and being provided with a bracing pin passing therethrough,whereby, said tongue portion is made light and strong.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a onepiece reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a tongue portion and a railportion, and straight guards running parallel with the rails of saidrail portion integral with said rail portion and flared at their extremeends.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a re: versible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a tongue portion and a railportion, said tongue portion and rail portion each being providedattheir outside ends with mortises, whereby, said frog may be securelylocked with the rails.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a tongue portion and a railportion, guards integral with each said rail portion and extending thelength thereof, said tongue portion and said rail portion each beingprovided at their outer ends with mortises, whereby said frog may besecurely locked with the rails.

12. As a new article of manufacture, a

reversible railroad frog comprising two faces, each face comprising atongue portion and a rail portion, said rail portion being provided inits sides with recesses, whereby, the weight of said frog is reduced anda means is provided for securing the same to the railroad cross-ties.

13. As a new article of manufacture, a reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a tongue portion and a railportion, said tongue portion and said rail portion being each providedwith mortises at their outer ends, said rail portion being provided inits sides with recesses whereby said frog may be securely locked to therails and means provided for securing the same to the cross ties.

14. As a new article of manufacture, a reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a rail portion and a tongueportion, guards integral with each said rail portion and extending thelength thereof, said rail portion and said tongue portion each beingprovided at its outer ends with mortises, said rail portion beingprovided in its sides with recesses, whereby said frog may be securelylocked with the rails and the said guards on the face not in use letinto the cross ties securing the said frog against lateral movement.

15. As a new article of manufacture, a reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces,

each face comprising a rail portion and a tongue portion, guardsintegral with each said rail portion and extending the length thereof,said rail portion and said tongue portion each being provided at itsouter ends with mortises, said rail portion being provided in its sideswith recesses, and fishplates fitting into said vertical slots.

16. As a new article of manufacture, a reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a tongue portion and a railportion, said rail portion being provided in its sides with recesses andsaid recesses being provided with strengthening ribs.

17. As a new article of manufacture, a reversible railroad frogcomprising two faces, each face comprising a tongue portion and arecessed rail portion, said tongue portion having a hollow center andbeing provided with a bracing pin passing therethrough, whereby, saidtongue portion is made light and strong.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence oftwo witnesses.

JOHN HOSKYN. JOSEPH H. BIDDEMEN.

Witnesses:

ETHEL A. KELLY, J. WM. ELLIs. J

